Investigating aquifer contamination and groundwater quality in eastern Terai region of Nepal

Abstract

ObjectiveThis study aims at assessing the groundwater quality of the three districts of Eastern Terai region of Nepal viz. Morang, Jhapa, Sunsari using physicochemical characteristics and statistical approach so that possible contamination of water reservoir can be understood. pH, temperature, conductivity, turbidity, color, total dissolved solids, fluorides, ammonia, nitrates, chloride, total hardness, calcium hardness, calcium, magnesium, total alkalinity, iron, manganese, arsenic have to be analyzed to know the present status of groundwater quality.ResultsResults revealed that the value of analyzed parameters were within the acceptable limits for drinking water recommended by World Health Organization except for pH, turbidity, ammonia and iron. As per Nepal Drinking Water Quality Standards, fluoride and manganese too were not complying with the permissible limit. Electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, chloride, total hardness, calcium hardness, manganese, and total alkalinity show good positive correlation with major water quality parameters. Calcium, magnesium, total hardness, calcium hardness and total alkalinity greatly influences total dissolved solids and electrical conductivity. ANOVA, Tukey, and clustering highlight the significance of three districts. Groundwater can be considered safe, but there is always a chance of contamination through chemical wastes in the heavily industrialized area of Morang and Sunsari Industrial corridor.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s13104-018-3445-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Investigating the Effects of Atmospheric Pressure Air DBD Plasma on Physio-Chemical and Microbial Parameters of Groundwater

“…The responsible factors for the decrease in pH might be several RONS species which are produced during plasma treatment on water and plasma acids [26] [27]. Electrical conductivity is one of the indicators of dissolved inorganic ions in water [28]. The electrical conductivity (EC) and dissolved oxygen (DO) in plasma-treated waters were increased linearly (Table 1) and this result is consonant with the previous works [12] [29] [30].…”

Equity implications of rice fortification: a modelling study from Nepal

“…We however noted that, to avoid exceeding UL for niacin, niacinamide will need to be used (as required by the WFP specification) in fortification because it has a much higher UL (900 mg/d) than nicotinic acid (35 mg/d). However, for populations reliant on groundwater such as those in the Terai, our estimates of Fe adequacy are uncertain due to the wide variance in estimates of Fe concentrations in groundwater in Nepal (68)(69)(70)(71) . Sensitivity analyses of adding the lowest estimate of 0•04 mg/d (70) and a water intake of 2 l/d (72) would result in almost zero change in PA estimates.…”

“…The risk of exceeding UL of Fe would be high if consuming 42 mg/d from water, since the upper level cut-off is 45 mg/d. However, the probability of such high intakes is low, since Nepal estimates include 0•05-10•81 mg/l (eastern Terai (68) ), 0•3 to 19•5 mg/l (central Terai (71) ) and 0•02 to 1•9 mg/L (69,70) (Kathmandu valley). Therefore, although Fe contamination of water is more likely in the Terai, more rice is grown so people are less likely to consume fortified rice in this region.…”

Prevalence of Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria in Domestic Water Storage Tanks in Sidon, Lebanon

“…In Lebanon, the standard values of the physicochemical properties of water are set by "Libnor" according to ISO 10523:1994. Total dissolved solutes are the measurement of inorganic salts and dissolved organic substances in water [10,11]. Measuring both TDS and pH tracks the pollution's access to water.…”